


The Quest

by superdanganisland



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Island Mode, M/M, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 20:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3087905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superdanganisland/pseuds/superdanganisland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The students catch word that a pod of dolphins has been spotted off of Chandler Beach, and the SHSL Breeder decides he needs a closer look. Unfortunately, he can't operate a canoe by himself...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Quest

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly fluffy Souda/Gundam, and most of it’s them irritating each other, but there’s some brief ot3 action and some other characters in there as well.
> 
> As a casual disclaimer: this was actually written in early 2013 and sat on tumblr for a while before being posted here.

Hinata rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of his cottage into the morning sunlight. “Dammit, I can’t believe I slept through the morning announcement. Everyone’s probably done with breakfast already.” The sky was hazy, a sign that today was going to be miserably hot and humid. He could already feel the sticky air on his skin. “…At least our cottages have air conditioning.”

He rounded the corner and began walking to the restaurant to see if anyone was still there, or at the very least, if there was any food left for him to pick at. It was suspiciously quiet near the hotel for this time of day. Hinata estimated it was about 10 am by the time he rolled out of bed, so everyone should have definitely been up by now. Usually there were at least a few of his classmates hanging out by the pool. He paused for a few moments and watched the sun glitter off the water’s surface.

He sighed lazily, continuing on towards the restaurant. Right as he was about to head up the steps into the hotel lobby, a familiar face burst through the door. “Oh! Oh oh? Good momomomorning, Hajime-chan~! We missed you at breakfast!” It was none other than Ibuki, who greeted him enthusiastically. Sonia and Mahiru were right behind her.

“Sorry I’m late. I slept in a little late this morning,” Hinata said. “Hey, is everyone gone already?”

“We’re the last ones. You see, Ibuki heard a little rumor that while Peko-chan was on her morning walk around the island, she happened to see some dolphins swimming near Chandler Beach. And this girl is not gonna rest until she sees them!” She held up a determined finger.

 “I brought my camera! I was hoping to catch some nice shots,” Mahiru added, raising it up with both hands. “Morning, Hinata-kun!” The camera flashed before he could prepare.

“…Hey! Give me a little warning, would ya?” he said, straightening out his hair.

“You look fine, Hinata-san,” Sonia said with her usual friendly smile. “Are you coming with us too?”

He looked around. “Well, I guess if there’s nothing else to do, I probably could.”

“Damn right you are! Everyone else is there already, and it’d be a shame if Hajime-chan didn’t show up!” Ibuki exclaimed. She hopped forward and threw an arm around him. “Right?”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming!” he said, slipping out of her hug. “Not that I have much of a choice, it seems.”

“Let’s hurry, then! I don’t want to miss them!” Mahiru said.

“Hmm, Chandler Beach… that’s the one with the beach house, right?”

“Ibuki will race you all there! Later~!” She took off at a dead sprint, not bothering to check if they were even following.

“…Was that a yes?”

“I’m fine with walking,” Sonia said.

Hinata looked at his two classmates standing in front of him. _Great… how is it that I always end up alone with the girls? Not that it’s an issue or anything…  oh, what the hell does it matter…_ “A-Anyway, yeah. Let’s get moving.” They continued towards the second island at a slightly more reasonable pace.

Despite the 16 of them being the only ones on the island, it was still quieter than usual along the way. The morning sun was already beating down on them, and the humid, stagnant air didn’t help. _Maybe pants were a poor choice,_ Hinata thought. He could see Sonia fanning herself from the corner of his eye. The three were just about to walk past Rocketpunch Market and cross the bridge to the center island when they noticed a certain someone coming out the store’s front doors with a grocery bag in hand. Even at a distance, he was pretty recognizable.

“Oi, Hinat-SONIA-SAN!!” Souda waved wildly. Obviously, when Sonia was around, he wasn’t interested in much else. He rushed over to them.

“Morning, Souda. What are you up to?” Hinata asked.

“Eh? Oh, I was just getting some caffeine to wake myself up.” He reached into his bag and held up a cold bottle of soda.

“Huh? Don’t you want like, a cup of coffee or tea or something instead at this time of day? Didn’t you go eat breakfast with everyone?”

“Haha, nah… you see, I kinda slept in. By accident, ya know. I kinda took apart my alarm clock and can’t get it back together,” he said, laughing nervously. “Besides, it’s too hot for that kinda stuff. I’d rather have something cold n’ sweet, ya know. More importantly, what’s going on here?” His eyes darted between Sonia and Hinata.

He paused for a moment, brewing up some response that would rile up Souda. “Oh, us? We were just going to hang out at the beach together. Alone. Just me and Sonia. Right?” Sonia just smiled.

“…W-What?” Souda stammered.

Mahiru quickly figured out what Hinata was doing and played along. “Oh, of course. I was going to take some couple shots by the water. They’re gonna be really cute.”

“…………” His brow furrowed.

Hinata laughed. “Hah, we’re kidding. Really though, we’re heading over to Chandler Beach on the second island. Ibuki said Pekoyama saw some dolphins on her morning walk and we were gonna go check it out. Apparently everyone’s already there.”

“Yes, and everyone is invited. _Even_ Souda-san,” Sonia said. Souda’s frown immediately turned into a wide, toothy grin.

“Ah! I hope ya don’t mind me comin’ with then, heh heh!”

“Well, c’mon then! You’ve already stalled us enough,” Mahiru said. She began walking and waved her hand at them to follow. They quickly tagged along.

Before long, they found themselves at the diner parking lot. They could hear some familiar voices coming from the beach area.

Souda looked longingly at the diner as they walked by. “Ah, man… I’m totally starving already. Think they have a breakfast menu there?” Hinata was feeling it too, but didn’t want to complain.

“And whose fault is that? You should have been at breakfast with the rest of us!” Mahiru said.

“I was just asking!”

They rounded the corner, passing the Chandler Beach sign, and walked out in front of the beach house. A few of their classmates were standing outside. Ibuki, who had gotten there long before them, was the first to notice their arrival. It was obvious from her flushed face that she really did sprint the entire distance. Her usually perfect hair spirals looked about ready to fall apart.

“Ibuki wins~! What took you all so long? You pick up a stranger on your way?” She held a hand up to her brow. A few of the others were standing around as well, their eyes turned to the water.

“Sorry we took so long. Where’s everyone else?” Hinata asked. Near her were Owari, Nidai, and Tanaka, who all had their swimsuits on. Tanaka, of course, had his signature scarf on as well.

“They’re inside, takin’ a break from the heat,” Owari said. “Wimps, I tell ya. It ain’t even hot.” It most certainly was hot.

“Glad to see you all made it. Are you going to stay out here and tough it out with us?” Nidai asked. He had a pair of binoculars around his neck. “True strength means enduring the heat and WATCHING DOLPHINS WITH _SPIRIT!!”_

“I’m glad you’re enthusiastic about this. Anyone see anything out there?” Hinata asked. Mahiru had her camera zoomed in at the water.

Ibuki placed a hand behind her head sheepishly. “Ehh… no, I guess. Peko-chan thinks they might have left already. But we’re still trying!”

Mahiru looked up from her viewfinder. “Aww… I’m gonna be awfully disappointed if they’re gone. I was hoping to make a vacation scrapbook for everyone and those would have made some great photos.”

“Here, try these,” Nidai casually tossed the binoculars at Mahiru, who fumbled them in her hands.

“Hey! Don’t just throw things at people!” she exclaimed.

Hinata turned to Tanaka, who hadn’t said anything yet. “I’m surprised you’re out here with these guys. You looking, too?”

“I assure you, this is for research purposes only,” he stated, his arms crossed. “I too am debating going inside, however. The diabolical rays of Sol are threatening to burn my precious skin. I fear they may have already succeeded in some areas…” His usual pale skin was indeed tinted rather noticeably pink.

Souda snickered. “Hah hah, you could probably use some sun there, bud. Who needs a lighthouse when we can just follow the light reflecting off that pale skin of yours?”

"...I am not going to respond to such _blatant_ provocation," Tanaka said coolly.

Sonia scooted herself over to Tanaka, much to the dismay of Souda. “This is very exciting, don’t you think? I’ve never seen dolphins in real life before. We don’t have these types of creatures in Novoselic. I would love to be able to witness some!”

“…Is that so?” If he had been blushing, there was no way you would have been able to tell past his sunburn. “Perhaps, in that case, I may be able to gain the favor of the sea-gods and summon them back. I will need space to perform the ritual, however.”

Souda scoffed. “Oh really? Like hell you are. There’s no way that’s gonna work,”

“Oh, please do! That would be wonderful!” Sonia clapped her hands together.

“Huh? You seriously believe this kid?”

Tanaka laughed, puffing out his chest with his arms crossed in front of him. “Fwahahaha! No beast shall be left untamed by Gundam Tanaka, whether land or sea!”

“Hey, I hate to interrupt this important conversation, but I think I see something!” Mahiru had the binoculars glued to her eyes.

“Eh?” Everyone immediately stopped and turned their eyes to the ocean, watching intently for a sign to appear.

“Are you su-…OH! A fin!” Hinata exclaimed. Sure enough, a grey, pointed fin could be seen bobbing up and down as it traveled down the beach. “Whoa!”

Tanaka snatched the binoculars from Mahiru, ignoring her protests. “Aha! Just the mere mention of the ritual brought them here! Incredible! Look, my Four Dark Gods!”

“Heh heh… they really are something, aren’t they?” Nidai slapped a large hand on Tanaka’s sunburned back, causing him to flinch.

“…Please do not!!”

“Woo! Ibuki needs to tell the others!” She twirled around in a circle and skipped back to the beach house, the others staying behind to watch.

“Oi! There’s another!” Owari said, pointing to a second fin. They observed silently for a few more minutes before hearing the door open behind them. A few more of their classmates shuffled outside.

“Are they here? You better not be fuckin’ with us this time,” Kuzuryuu said.

“I know what I saw when I was out here this morning. Are they really back?” Pekoyama asked.

“Ibuki would never tell a lie! Look!” With perfect timing, just as one particularly large wave crested onto the shore, a large, dark outline could be seen cruising along its length.

“So the rumors are true,” Togami said, pushing his glasses up on his face. Gradually, more and more fins kept appearing. They tended to be bunched together in groups.

They watched quietly for a few more minutes before a single deep voice broke the silence. “…As the Super High-School Level Animal Breeder, I must request that I get a closer look.”

“Is that so?” Hinata asked.

“Yes. This is, dare I say, a dire need.”

“And how are you gonna do that?” Souda added.

Pekoyama looked back at the beach house. “…I believe I may have seen a couple of canoes tied up by the side of the building there, if that’s what you mean by getting a closer look.”

A small smile slowly appeared on Tanaka’s face. “Splendid. I will be departing on a quest, then. I will see you all sometime in the next millennium.”

Nidai stopped him. “…Wait now, have you ever been out on a canoe before? I think you’re gonna need two people to paddle or you’re gonna have a hell of a time. Someone else should go, too,” he said. “…Sonia, why don’t you go with him?”

“Hold up!” Souda interrupted, stepping forward. “No way! That’s too dangerous for a princess! If there’s dolphins out there, who knows what other huge things are lurking down in the water? What if you get stranded or sink or something? There’s too many things that could happen!”

Nidai held his hands on his hips. “Huh, maybe you’re right… In that case, it sounds like Souda is volunteering.”

“Of cour-HUH?!”

He looked over at the princess. “…If that is alright with our Lady Sonia, that is.”

“O-oh… yes, I suppose. I think watching will be just fine. I’m not sure I’d be very helpful with a paddle, like I said before, I’m more of a decoration…” she reassured. Hinata could tell she probably did want to with Tanaka, but also didn’t want to hold him back.

“…H-hey! What?! No!” Souda objected. “Over my dead body! I ain’t going out on no boat with-”

“Souda-san, please cease your complaining at once!” Sonia commanded, practically causing the mechanic to jump out of his suit.

He held a palm up to his forehead. “…Oi, but why me? Someone else here must want to go, right?”

 “Because I said so,” Nidai said. He cracked his knuckles. “Unless you can beat me in a fight.”

“Uwaaahh!! No! Fine, I’ll do it!” he said, craning his neck up at the huge man and holding up his hands in submission. A fight between the two of them would easily be over before it began.

Tanaka exhaled loudly out of his nose. He stared down the pink-haired mechanic. “…I suppose this one will do. If nothing else, you’ve got the arm strength. We must move quickly, however. Our beach visitors will not wait for bumbling mortals.” He whirled around and hurried back towards the canoes to begin untying them.

“What’re you waiting for? Go help him,” Nidai gave Souda a shove. He stumbled forward, just barely catching his balance enough to chase after Tanaka.

“Alright, alright, I got it!” He shuffled through the sand and met up with his classmate at the beach house, only stopping to take off his jumpsuit, which was making him hot. It seemed he had been prepared for the day by having his swim trunks on under his outfit. Meanwhile, Tanaka already had the knot undone.

“It is complete. Come now, impertinent one.” He began pushing the boat towards the beach.

Souda aligned himself at the other end. “Kuh… how is it that I always get stuck with you? This is your fault, you know.”

“…You think I requested your assistance, fool? Had you not acted like a child back there, you wouldn’t have been in this position at all.”

“I wasn’t acting like a child!”

Tanaka paused to glare at Souda. “…I don’t think I need to repeat myself.”

Souda’s eyes narrowed. “…Well then. First of all, we could move this a little faster if you weren’t trying to push it through the sand like an idiot. Lift up your end, would ya?” Surprisingly, Tanaka did as he suggested, no questions asked. Souda looked back at the group to see if they were watching, and a few of their eyes were turned in their direction. Nidai, in particular, would snap him in half in a hurry if he didn’t cooperate. Luckily their classmates were out of earshot and didn’t hear their bickering. The two lugged the boat all the way over to the edge of the water.

Tanaka set down his end first. “One moment please.”

“Now what?” The animal breeder walked a good distance away back near the beach house and kneeled while Souda watched curiously. As though it had been rehearsed, Tanaka’s four hamsters came scurrying down his arm one-by-one and huddled together in the sand. “There. It is too dangerous for you four as the water is not kind to creatures born from fire. I will be sure to share my findings when, or if, I shall return.” He marched back over to the boat and began pushing it into the water. 

Souda was now stalling. He was suddenly coming to the realization that he was, in fact, afraid of going out on the water. “H-hey, wait a minute, can’t we grab some lifejackets or something? Like, what if a wave knocks us over?” He scratched his cheek nervously.

“There is no time for safety precautions. If the sea decides to take us, then so it shall be.” He certainly wasn’t making him feel any better.

“N-no, seriously! What if they’re not dolphins at all and they’re actually shark fins? If we tip over, we’re totally goners!”

Tanaka sighed. “If you had any remnant of a brain in that head of yours, you would know that a dolphin’s fin bobs up and down in the water while a shark’s fin stays above the surface for a distance. The fins we saw out there most definitely belonged to dolphins. Have you no training in marine zoology?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve never even been to a beach before!” Souda said. “Seriously, you’ve got time to drop off your hamsters and not get us lifejackets?! Do you care about those things more than us?”

Tanaka stopped what he was doing and looked up at Souda, completely stone-faced. “Yes.” He then resumed, pushing the rest of their canoe completely into the water.

“….I can’t believe I agreed to this nonsense.” Souda looked back at the others and jumped into the boat.  Tanaka walked along side and guided it out where it was deep enough, just past his hips, and then jumped into the front. They each grabbed an oar and began paddling as hard as they could. They struggled at first, but once they made it past where the waves were breaking it was much easier to navigate.

“Heh heh … alright, this is far enough, right?” Souda said. They were barely out in the water.

“No.”

Back on shore, the group attempted to watch the two as they ventured out. Hinata turned to Nidai. “…Say, are you sure it was a good idea to send those two out together? Like, they’re not gonna try and drown each other, are they?” He knew very well that the two were not terribly fond of each other.

“Gyahaha! Of course, they’ll be fine. If anything, it’ll build a little character. And god knows at least one of them could use it.”

“I guess I can’t argue with that kind of logic.”

Back out on the boat, the two boys had managed to go out almost a hundred meters before coming to a rest, despite multiple requests from Souda to stop. Once they got far enough out, the water was actually pretty peaceful. Tanaka leaned out over the edge to see if he could see anything. Souda, on the other hand, was focusing on not tipping over (and not getting seasick).

“I can’t see anything,” Souda complained.

“Of course not. It has already been determined that your astral level is very weak,” Tanaka said. Souda scoffed. “But alas, it is as I thought. The dolphins are following a school of fish to feed on. See that unusually-colored region a ways away from us?” He pointed over at a location where the water had a slightly strange reddish tinge. Looking even closer, one could see where the surface was being disturbed by frenzied movement.

“Oh my god! That’s seriously all fish?!”

“That’s so. And that is the direction we must head. Come, now,” Tanaka began swinging the canoe around with his single oar.

“I’m not sure if I like this idea very much…” he said, but began paddling anyway. They came within a few meters of the strange patch of water until Tanaka commanded them to stop. The movement seemed to calm down.

“This will be perfect. Unfortunately, even my superior eyesight is sometimes not enough. Luckily, I have brought the perfect tool to help us in this situation.”

“A… tool?” Souda asked.

Tanaka pulled an object from his scarf. “Indeed. It is a pair of enchanted lenses specifically designed to cancel out Sol’s dreadful glare and allow us to peer into the depths. Behold!” He held up what appeared to be a normal pair of sunglasses.

“You mean… _polarized_ _sunglasses_?” he said. At least he wasn’t totally lying – polarized lenses were supposed to be great for fishing or whatever it was that Tanaka was doing, since they helped see better under the water’s surface. “Don’t be stupid. Where’d you get those?”

“Rocketpunch Market,” he answered casually. He flipped them open with one hand and placed them on his face. “Ha ha! I can see everything!”

Souda sighed and leaned back while Tanaka did his thing. He took off his hat, which was only making him sweat. “I don’t know how you can wear that scarf in this weather, kid.” Tanaka ignored him. He did look positively ridiculous in sunglasses. He seemed to be enjoying himself, however, despite the distinct lack of dolphins nearby.

A few minutes passed before Souda sat up. He was quickly growing bored and was rocking back and forth impatiently. “…Hey. Can I see those for a minute? I wanna look.”

“Never.”

“Hey! C’mon, dude, it’s a simple request! I’ll give them right back!”

“I am trying to conduct research, if you don’t mind,” he said as he swiveled his head around at the water around them, trying to find any signs of life.

“Yeah right, you’re just lookin’. C’mon, just a sec, please!”

“…Do not speak to me.”

Souda suddenly lurched forward. “Gimme those!”

“Don’t you lay a hand on me, you fiend!” he said, jerking backwards. “Surely your hands will be incinerated shall they come in contact with my skin!”

“They’re mine now!” He somehow managed to get a hand on Tanaka’s face and yanked the glasses off, quickly enraging the animal breeder.

He gritted his teeth. “You… _wretch_! You absolute beast! Return those at _once!!”_ Tanaka was the one to throw himself forward this time and swiftly seized Souda’s wrist. The two wrestled briefly before a single ill-placed blow knocked the glasses out of their hands. Like no one could have seen it coming, the glasses landed in the water with a soft *ploop*.

Tanaka faced the edge of the canoe with him arms crossed while Souda had his hands on the edge, peering into the water, where they sat for a few moments in angry silence.

The breeder slowly turned towards his classmate with a furrowed brow. “I am going to murder you.”

Souda lifted himself up. “Hah… I’d like to see you try! Because according to Usami, murdering is _against_ the _rules_!” he said, leaning forward.

“See if that stops me.” He began scooting towards Souda, who grew more uneasy as every second passed.

“Hey… wait a minute here now! I’ll buy you a new pair, alright? There’s no need to get violent…!” He held his hands up in submission.

“It is too late for apologies, demon!” He grabbed Souda’s shoulders aggressively, causing him to scream. “I CAST YOU INTO THE DEPTHS!! THESE SHALL BE YOUR DEATH THROES!!”

“TANAKAAAA!!!! UWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

“MAY THE SEA-GODS HAVE MERCY!!” Their boat pitched dangerously as the two scuffled…

…

Back on the shore, Mahiru was watching the two through her binoculars. “Uh, guys…”

Everyone was busy chatting amongst themselves and hanging out by the water. “…What is it, Mahiru-san?” Nanami asked.

She had been watching as their boat flipped end-over-end. “Uhh… I think Sonia’s boyfriends just went in the drink.”

Sonia’s face reddened. “Don’t call them that! Let me see!” Mahiru handed the binoculars to her. She focused in on the distant canoe. “Oh my goodness! Tanaka-san!”

They had managed to completely flip their canoe. Tanaka calmly grabbed their overturned boat to hold himself up while Souda flailed wildly, splashing water all over the place. Their oars floated nearby.

“Calm down, you fool. Hold on to the other end of this while we wait for assistance.”

“Gyah!! Look what you did! Oh my god! We’re gonna die out here for real!” he panicked. “I lost my hat! This is all your fault!”

“I am _not_ about to argue with you about who is at fault! Now get over here and do as I say or you _are_ going to die!” Souda threw himself over the canoe, breathing heavily.

“Unreal. I knew this was a bad idea. I should have never agreed to come out here,” he said.

“I should have never allowed you to come with.” He brushed his soaked hair out of his face.

“…Kuh! I hope they’re coming to get us over there.” The two held onto their boat while treading water to keep themselves afloat. They didn’t speak a word to each other for a few long minutes.

Suddenly, an unknown slippery object brushed past Souda’s foot, causing him to practically jump out of the water. “AAAHH!!”

“What in the name of Gehenna is wrong with you now?” Tanaka asked.

“I-I think it was a fish! Yeah, it was definitely a fish! Oh, jeez, what if it was something bigger…?” Souda whirled around nervously, trying to look into the water. “…Shit! I can’t stay here! We’re sitting ducks!”

“You cannot swim back to shore…! It’s too-”

“No way! I’m out of here!” Souda pushed himself off of the boat and began paddling himself back to shore. Tanaka quickly threw his arm forward and attempted to grab him to no avail. As much as Souda drove him up the wall, he didn’t truly want to see him drown in the middle of the ocean.

“Souda! You fool!” He contemplated going after him, but upon turning his eyes towards the shore, he could see what looked like a brightly colored canoe being placed into the water. It appeared that Nidai was coming for them.

Souda swam as hard as he could, quickly growing more tired with every stroke. He wasn’t the best swimmer, but was hoping he could make it work. “Shit… I’m not even halfway there!” he panted. “Gah… oh, god, this was a bad idea!” He looked back towards the overturned canoe, and even the distance back looked too far. “It’s alright, I got this… I got this, I think…” The salt water in his eyes made it hard to even see. He mustered up all of his stamina just to keep himself afloat as he began to slow down.

Suddenly, he heard a loud voice crying out from the direction of the beach. “I’M COMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!”

Before he even realized it, Nidai was practically on top of him. “YOU CALL THAT SWIMMING?!” he bellowed, grabbing Souda from under his arms and heaving him into his boat with almost no effort.

“Ahh! Nidai!” he said, rubbing the salt water out of his eyes. “T-thank you! You totally saved my ass!”

“No time for sentimentality! We need to go get Tanaka as well!” He plowed ahead. Even though he was only using a single paddle, he was moving faster than the two of them combined.

Tanaka calmly clung onto his canoe as he watched them approach. Before long, they were already there. “Thank you for coming to my assistance, boisterous one. Now if I may-“ He had put his hands on the edge of the boat to pull himself up but was grabbed by Nidai and thrown on board before he could protest.

“…Ah. That works, I suppose.” He adjusted his scarf, which was now sopping wet.

Without saying anything, Nidai stretched his oar out into the water and dipped it in, picking up a black object on the end of his paddle. He threw it onto the boat. “Lose something?”

“My hat!” Souda cried. Nidai tossed it towards him, splashing him with water. “Aww man, I can’t wear it like this! It’s totally soaked!” He wrung it out over the edge.

“Did you expect it to come out dry?” he said. “Let’s move. The others are waiting. I can come back out for the other canoe, it’s not going anywhere.” He began powering back towards the shore, with Souda and Tanaka both wet and embarrassed and all three of them uncomfortably close to each other on the small boat.

They made it back to shore with no further incident. The two could practically feel the others judging them already.

“Nice job. You two looked like a couple of dumbasses out there,” Kuzuryuu was first to greet them.

“Heh heh, thanks… well hey, we made it!” Souda said. His heart jumped as he saw Sonia begin to run at them, but instead of going to him, she made a beeline towards Tanaka.

“Tanaka-san! Are you alright?” she asked. She had all four of the Dark Gods perched on her shoulders.

“Do not worry about me, my lady. The heart of the ocean almost devoured us, but luck was on our side.” She looked positively delighted.

Ibuki threw her arms up in the air. “Wooo~! That was intense! Let’s do that again tomorrow!”

“How’d ya manage to do that, anyway?” Owari asked, nodding out towards the overturned canoe.

The two briefly looked at one another, each ready for the other to pin the blame on them. But neither of them managed to form any words. To Souda’s surprise, Tanaka finally spoke up. “I apologize. I made an error and miscalculated how far I could lean out.”

 _What the hell…? Why is this kid not totally ragging on me?_ Souda simply blinked.

Sonia smiled sweetly. “It is alright. I’m sure Souda-san forgives you. _Doesn’t he?”_

“H-huh? I mean, yeah!” He grinned crookedly.

“Well, that’s settled. Maybe we better keep you two out of the water for a while,” Hinata said. “Did you even manage to see any dolphins out there?”

Tanaka paused. “Err… no, I am afraid. They unfortunately slipped out of our grasp. Perhaps they will be return another day, however.”

“Well, I do have some good news,” Mahiru said. “I managed to get a few good shots of you two in the water!”

“…What was that?!” Tanaka said.

“Oh, you boys should really see them. But not yet. Maybe I’ll use them as blackmail one day,” she said.

“Y-you better not! Don’t even joke!” Souda said. Mahiru simply giggled and began heading back to the beach house with the rest of the girls, minus Sonia, who stayed behind.

Tanaka’s face flushed with embarrassment. “If you do not mind, I wish to return to my cottage this afternoon. You may walk with me, if you like.”

“Of course, I do not mind!” Sonia said, turning to follow Tanaka around the beach house. Souda almost objected, but didn’t want to get himself caught up in another mess. He had had enough of the animal breeder for a good long while.

As the others slowly began leaving to go do their own things, Hinata turned towards his soul friend. “Rough morning, huh?”

“Ya.”

“Wanna go get a burger? I still haven’t eaten.”

“Ya.”

 

* * *

 

Souda was lying in his bed that night shortly after the 10 pm announcement with his arms crossed behind his head. He was still sore at Tanaka for trying to throw him overboard, but at the same time couldn’t figure out why he didn’t blame him for the incident in front of everyone when they got back on shore. After all, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was kind of his own fault.

“That bastard…” he sighed, shifting onto his side and turning his eyes towards a brightly-colored Rocketpunch Market bag sitting nearby. Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. “...Who the hell’s that?”

He got up and flipped on the lights. He tried looking through the peephole, but couldn’t make out who it was. Regardless, he slowly opened the door. “T-Tanaka!”

“Shh, quiet,” he said, holding his scarf over his own face and waltzing right on in. It was the last person Souda was hoping to see at this hour. Tanaka shut the door behind him.

“W-What the hell? Get out of my room!” He balled up his hands.

“I was hoping you would allow me to explain myself,” he said. “I wanted to formally apologize for my behavior earlier.”

Souda immediately dropped his guard. “Apologize? To me? What’s this all about?”

He crossed his arms. “I acted childishly. It was unacceptable. Please forgive my actions.”

“H-huh? Hey wait, don’t apologize to me! I was the one who was being stupid!” he said.

“Are you apologizing as well?” Tanaka turned his eyes up at Souda.

He hesitated with his answer. “W-well … I guess you could call it that. Sorry, I suppose.” He put a hand behind his head and averted his eyes from Tanaka’s. “And thanks for like, not totally giving me hell in front of, ya know… Sonia.”

“Fufufu. I suppose I can thank you as well for that very same reason,” he said.

During that moment of awkward silence, Souda glanced back over at the distinctive bag sitting by the edge of his bed. He didn’t want to look like a total nerd for going out of his way for Tanaka, but… “H-hey. Sorry I knocked your sunglasses in the water, too. Here, I bought you another pair to make up for it.” He walked back to his bed and grabbed the bag, pulling out a new pair of glasses with the tags still on them.

“… _You_ got those for me?” he said. “You shouldn’t… be concerned about me….” He held his scarf up over his face.

“Ehh… I guess it wasn’t totally my idea. Hinata suggested it first. But I thought it was a good idea, y’know.”

“I don’t know if I will be requiring these anytime in the future, but thank you for the thought.” Tanaka reached out and took the glasses from Souda’s outstretched hand, stuffing them into his scarf.

Despite the tense atmosphere in the room, their meeting was going better than anyone could have predicted. Oh, the two definitely still grated on one another, but the least they could do is tolerate each other.

A few more moment of awkward silence passed. Tanaka looked back at Souda and spoke up. “Well, let us not hold a grudge about this, do you hear me? After all, and I hate to bring up that cursed rabbit, but Usami said we were specifically brought here to build our friendships, isn’t that right?”

“Y-yeah, sure. Just… don’t mention I did anything nice for you, okay?”

“If you insist.”

Souda’s voice raised. “And don’t let anyone see you walking out of my room, okay? Who knows the rumors that’ll fly if someone catches us together!”

Tanaka smirked devilishly. “I wouldn’t dare.”

He grabbed the breeder by the shoulders and whirled him around to push him out the door. “Alright, now get out of here, you nerd!”

“Heh heh… the pot calling the kettle black, is it not?” he chuckled.

“…Gyaaaa!! Goodbye!” He slammed the door behind him.

Tanaka brushed off his jacket and looked around. The air had cooled off considerably since earlier that day, but it was still muggy as ever. Luckily, there was no one in sight, and he began walking back to his own cottage. “It seems the mechanic can be reasoned with, after all,” he said to himself. One of his hamsters poked out of his muffler to look up at him.

He exhaled sharply. “Dare I say this, and don’t take this the wrong way, but he may prove to be the most difficult animal I’ve ever tamed.”


End file.
